George Gulliver
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George Gulliver (4 June 1804 – 17 November 1882), was an English
anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
and
physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical a ...
.


Life and work

Gulliver was born at
Banbury, Oxfordshire Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...
, on 4 June 1804, and after an apprenticeship with local surgeons entered at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, where he became
prosector A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissection for demonstration, usually in medical schools or hospitals. Many important anatomists began their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomy and p ...
to
Abernethy Abernethy may refer to: Places Scotland * Abernethy, Perth and Kinross, a village ** Abernethy (NBR) railway station, a former railway station in this village * Nethy Bridge, Highland, a village formerly known as Abernethy * Abernethy Forest, ...
and dresser to
Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...
(afterwards Sir William). Becoming a
Member of the Royal College of Surgeons Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (MRCS) is a postgraduate diploma for surgeons in the UK and Ireland. Obtaining this qualification allows a doctor to become a member of one of the four surgical colleges ...
in June 1826 he was gazetted hospital assistant to the forces in May 1827, and afterwards became surgeon to the
Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) (RHG) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. Raised in August 1650 at Newcastle upon Tyne and County Durham by Sir Arthur Haselrigge on the orders of Oliver Cr ...
(the Blues). He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in 1838,
Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal C ...
in 1843, and in 1852 a member of the council of the latter body. In 1861 he was Hunterian professor of comparative anatomy and physiology, and in 1863 delivered the Hunterian oration, in which he strongly put forward the neglected claims of William Hewson and John Quekett as discoverers. For some years before his death he had retired from the army, and devoted himself to research and writing, but became gradually enfeebled by
gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...
. Many of his later papers were written when he was confined to his bed. He died at
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
on 17 November 1882, leaving one son, George, assistant physician to St. Thomas' Hospital. Gulliver wrote no systematic work, although he edited an English translation of Gerber's ''General and Minute Anatomy of Man and the Mammalia'' in 1842, adding, besides numerous notes, an appendix giving an account of his own researches on the blood,
chyle Chyle (from the Greek word χυλός ''chylos'', "juice") is a milky bodily fluid consisting of lymph and emulsified fats, or free fatty acids (FFAs). It is formed in the small intestine during digestion of fatty foods, and taken up by lymph v ...
,
lymph Lymph (from Latin, , meaning "water") is the fluid that flows through the lymphatic system, a system composed of lymph vessels (channels) and intervening lymph nodes whose function, like the venous system, is to return fluid from the tissues to ...
, &c. In 1846 he edited for the Sydenham Society ''The Works of William Hewson, F.R.S.'', with copious notes and a biography of Hewson. He also supplied notes to
Rudolph Wagner Rudolf Friedrich Johann Heinrich Wagner (30 July 1805 – 13 May 1864) was a German anatomist and physiologist and the co-discoverer of the germinal vesicle. He made important investigations on ganglia, nerve-endings, and the sympathetic ner ...
's ''Physiology'', translated by Dr. Willis (1844). His Hunterian lectures on the "Blood, Lymph, and Chyle of Vertebrates" were published in the ''Medical Times and Gazette'' from 2 August 1862 to 13 June 1863. Most of his work is scattered through various periodicals; a list of them is given in the Royal Society's ''Catalogue of Scientific Papers''. Gulliver was the first to give extensive tables of measurements and full observations on the shape and structure of the red blood-corpuscles in man and many vertebrates, resulting in several interesting discoveries. In some points he corrected the prevailing views adopted from John Hunter as to the
coagulation Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It potentially results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. The mechanism o ...
of the blood, at the same time confirming other views of Hunter; he noted the fibrillar form of clot
fibrin Fibrin (also called Factor Ia) is a fibrous, non-globular protein involved in the clotting of blood. It is formed by the action of the protease thrombin on fibrinogen, which causes it to polymerize. The polymerized fibrin, together with platele ...
, the so-called molecular base of chyle, the prevalence of naked nuclei in chyle and lymph, and the intimate connection of the
thymus gland The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or ''T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. T ...
with the
lymphatic system The lymphatic system, or lymphoid system, is an organ system in vertebrates that is part of the immune system, and complementary to the circulatory system. It consists of a large network of lymphatic vessels, lymph nodes, lymphatic or lymphoid o ...
. His work in connection with the formation and repair of bone had considerable significance. To pathology he rendered important services, showing the prevalence of
cholesterine Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell mem ...
and
fatty degeneration Steatosis, also called fatty change, is abnormal retention of fat (lipids) within a cell or organ. Steatosis most often affects the liver – the primary organ of lipid metabolism – where the condition is commonly referred to as fatty liver disea ...
in several organs and morbid products, the significance of the softening of clots of fibrin, and some of the characteristics of
tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...
. In botany also Gulliver did original work, proving the important varieties of character in
raphides Raphides (pronounced /ˈræfɪˌdiz/, singular raphide /ˈreɪfʌɪd/ or raphis) are needle-shaped crystals of calcium oxalate monohydrate ( prismatic monoclinic crystals) or calcium carbonate as aragonite ( dipyramidal orthorhombic crystals), ...
,
pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
, and some tissues, and their taxonomic value.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulliver, George 1804 births 1882 deaths People from Oxfordshire 19th-century English medical doctors English anatomists British physiologists Fellows of the Royal Society